“This house must have cost quite a bit to renovate, right?” Lin Zeqiu asked.

“Yes,” Lin Zhixia pulled out a stack of documents from her backpack. “The living room and bedroom are laid with teak hardwood flooring finished with wood wax oil, the bathroom and balcony use non-slip vitrified tiles…”

Lin Zeqiu sat down on the sofa. “Did the landlord ask you to pay for the renovations?”

Lin Zhixia handed the documents to him. “The landlord’s price per square meter is more than one thousand yuan higher than for an unfinished apartment.”

Her father wandered around the living room for a while before asking vaguely, “Such a nice house, why would the landlord want to sell it?”

Lin Zhixia explained, “Last November, the A-shares stock market surged, with a premium over Hong Kong stocks exceeding thirty percent. The landlord wanted to sell real estate to invest in the stock market. The landlord also mentioned they own several properties in the provincial capital…”

Her father still wasn’t fully reassured. “Zhixia, have you saved enough for the down payment? How much more do you need? Dad and Mom will make up the difference.”

“It’s enough,” Lin Zhixia said cheerfully. “The Qingqian Project directly awarded me five hundred thousand yuan, the university gave me over one million yuan in housing allowance, and the Provincial Education Department allocated me a ‘high-level talent’ housing subsidy. Adding in my savings over the years, after paying the forty percent down payment, I still have one hundred and ten thousand yuan remaining in my bank account.”

Lin Zhixia’s parents were infected by her happy mood. Lin Zeqiu also said, “The renovation materials are quite high-end, but the furniture is lacking. I have over a hundred thousand yuan on hand, I’ll use it to buy us a few more sets of furniture.”

Lin Zhixia took his hand. “Come and see your new bedroom.”

Lin Zeqiu tensed all his muscles, his movements becoming stiff and rigid like a marionette. He even ignored Jiang Yubai standing nearby, not hearing clearly what Jiang Yubai had said. He only saw Jiang Yubai making his parents smile with delight, and his father patting Jiang Yubai’s shoulder, treating him with warmth like the March sunshine.

However, Lin Zeqiu no longer cared about Jiang Yubai. He only wanted to tour his new bedroom—a very spacious and bright room with a side door connecting to a private bathroom, private study, and a balcony with an expansive view.

Lin Zeqiu had lived alone in a ten-square-meter bedroom for over twenty years and had never slept in a double bed. He couldn’t help but bend down to touch the bed frame, reaching out his fingers before pulling his hand back. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Jiang Yubai and felt somewhat uncomfortable. No matter how much he liked this bedroom, he couldn’t appear too unsophisticated or embarrass his sister in front of Jiang Yubai.

At that moment, Lin Zhixia happened to ask, “Brother, do you like this house?”

Lin Zeqiu lifted his chin proudly. “It’s quite nice, passable.”

Lin Zhixia’s voice softened. “This is the best house I can afford. I couldn’t buy anything more expensive.”

Jiang Yubai suddenly spoke up, “You looked at houses by yourself for over three months. I was too busy with work to accompany you…”

“It’s fine,” Lin Zhixia said sincerely. “You taught me house-hunting techniques that helped me avoid detours and helped me a lot.”

After speaking, she leaned against Jiang Yubai, and under the cover of her sleeve, their fingers intertwined. Jiang Yubai continued, saying that as Lin Zhixia’s good friend and boyfriend, he wanted to give her some gifts, including a set of custom daily necessities, to celebrate her moving into this large house.

Lin Zhixia asked curiously, “What kind of daily necessities?”

Jiang Yubai briefly introduced the items: “Lamps, curtains, carpets, and kitchen utensils.”

“Don’t buy anything too expensive,” Lin Zhixia cautioned.

Jiang Yubai mimicked her usual tone, “Alright, alright.”

Jiang Yubai’s voice was low with a hint of laughter. Lin Zhixia imagined his expression must be quite handsome. Before she even looked at him, a sweet feeling welled up in her heart. She tightly held Jiang Yubai’s right hand and privately told him, “This new house is your home too…”

Jiang Yubai did not respond. He stood near the balcony where the dim sunlight fell into his eyes, making them appear warm and clear.

*

The original owner of this house was an easy-going middle-aged man. He didn’t take advantage of Lin Zhixia at all, and the property transfer procedures went very smoothly.

Lin Zhixia successfully passed the bank’s loan application. Her basic annual salary was about four hundred thousand yuan, and with various allowances, rewards, and patent licensing fees, her after-tax annual income was approximately five hundred thousand yuan. After deducting the monthly mortgage payment of nearly thirty thousand, she still had over one hundred thousand left, enough to cover her expenses—she had little interest in jewelry or designer clothes, lived quite frugally, and spent almost no money. However, Jiang Yubai was somewhat concerned about Lin Zhixia’s financial situation.

Jiang Yubai told Lin Zhixia that he would soon establish a “Quantum Technology Laboratory,” and that Lin Zhixia, as the head and founder of the laboratory, would definitely receive stable income.

Regarding the “Quantum Technology Laboratory,” Lin Zhixia wasn’t anxious at all. Her focus remained on teaching and research.

Besides those official university matters, how to properly arrange the new house was also a question worth exploring.

From May to June 2016, Lin Zhixia and Lin Zeqiu frequently visited IKEA, MUJI, and other minimalist furniture stores, buying many miscellaneous household items.

Meanwhile, Jiang Yubai generously sent over appliances, carpets, wooden cabinets, and kitchen utensils—the brands of those items were ones that Lin Zhixia’s family had never seen or heard of before. When Lin Zhixia asked about their prices, Jiang Yubai explained that he had gotten internal group purchase prices directly from the manufacturers, so they weren’t very expensive, and he hoped Lin Zhixia would accept his goodwill.

Lin Zhixia pressed further: “How much did you spend?”

Jiang Yubai changed the subject: “I didn’t consider thoroughly enough… I can’t help you academically, I can only provide some convenience in daily life.”

Jiang Yubai spoke particularly sincerely, taking all responsibility upon himself. When he mentioned “I can’t help you academically,” he slightly turned his face away, seemingly recalling the high school days when he was completely overshadowed by Lin Zhixia—back then, Jiang Yubai couldn’t achieve first place in the grade no matter how hard he tried, and even lost to Jin Baihui, and for a period, even Shen Fuxuan ranked ahead of him in exams.

In Lin Zhixia’s “Human Observation Diary,” her frequent description of Jiang Yubai was—”Today, Jiang Yubai again struggled over a simple physics problem…”

Jiang Yubai’s sigh was barely audible, and Lin Zhixia immediately felt sympathy for him. Not only did she accept all his gifts, but she also sat on his lap, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him several times. After saying just a few sweet words, he immediately tightened his grip around her waist and kissed her eagerly and passionately, as if finally emerging from the shadows of the past.

*

At the end of June 2016, Lin Zhixia moved into the new residence with her parents and brother.

At nine o’clock that evening, Lin Zeqiu took a shower in his bedroom and ceremoniously lay down on his big bed. He wrapped himself tightly in the blanket and buried his face in the pillow. The pillow was also quite extraordinary—solid yet soft, exuding a fresh scent of herbs and wood. In his twenty-some years of life, he never knew there could be such wonderful pillows in the world.

Lin Zeqiu was particularly excited and couldn’t fall asleep, yet didn’t want to get up.

Lin Zeqiu’s bedroom was closest to the living room.

After ten o’clock at night, he heard faint conversational sounds coming from the entrance.

He got out of bed and cracked open the door to see Lin Zhixia leading Jiang Yubai through the living room—yes, on the very first night after they moved in, Jiang Yubai had sneaked in to visit. Lin Zeqiu’s mind raised a red alert. He walked a short distance barefoot and discovered that Lin Zhixia had taken Jiang Yubai to the guest room.

Lin Zeqiu was relieved.

He returned to his bedroom.

However, just as Lin Zeqiu closed his door, Jiang Yubai leaned toward Lin Zhixia’s ear and said, “Your brother has gone back.”

Lin Zhixia shivered at the sound of his voice. “So?”

“Excuse me, may I go to your room?” he politely asked for her opinion.

Lin Zhixia righteously reminded him, “We can only sleep, nothing else.”

He said, “I understand.”

Lin Zhixia looked him up and down. He had just returned from the company and hadn’t had time to change his clothes. His shirt was neat, his trousers had sharp creases, giving the impression of a diligent workplace elite.

Lin Zhixia felt a warmth in her heart and took Jiang Yubai back to her master bedroom, where they played a role-playing game of “CEO Lin and Secretary Jiang” in the bathroom. Secretary Jiang’s services were meticulous and thorough, leaving CEO Lin unable to withstand them. The sounds of water, laughter, and gasping mixed in the bathroom, continuing until late into the night before finally stopping.

*

This summer was particularly sultry.

Jiang Yubai occasionally visited Lin Zhixia’s home. He would sleep in Lin Zhixia’s room until five-thirty in the morning, then sneak to the adjacent guest room. At seven-thirty the next morning, he would emerge from the guest room, and Lin Zeqiu believed that Jiang Yubai was still innocent—he might be cunning, have a deep scheming mind, a strong competitive spirit, and treat people differently, but in reality, he was still a conservative, well-behaved young man.

Lin Zhixia’s parents never paid attention to Jiang Yubai staying in the guest room.

Her parents left the house at seven every morning. They were still managing the supermarket business in Ancheng Community. Lin Zeqiu had bought his father a Wuling Hongguang minivan. At seven in the morning, her father would drive her mother back to Ancheng Community, and at six in the evening, they would return to the university town. They no longer ran the store day and night as before, because both Lin Zhixia and Lin Zeqiu now had stable incomes. Life was much easier than before, the family could eat dinner together every day and even watch some television together.

Lin Zhixia was very content.

She became even more dedicated to the tasks assigned by the university.

In August of this year, during the hottest weather, another major event occurred at the college—a highly respected professor suddenly decided to change jobs. Despite the college’s many attempts to retain him, they failed, and he still had several ungraduated master’s and doctoral students under his supervision. The college held an emergency meeting to ensure the students could graduate smoothly, and could only assign new advisors to them.